The present disclosure relates to all types of helmets and, more particularly, to a helmet that protects a wearer from concussions.
Head trauma resulting from sports and other activities is a common occurrence. Generally, head trauma occurs when an object impacts the head, thereby transferring energy to the head. A common head trauma resulting from sports is a concussion, which occurs when the brain bangs inside the skull and is bruised. To reduce the incidence of skull fracture and concussion, it is common practice to wear a protective helmet. Protective helmets are ostensibly designed to deflect and absorb energy transmitted by impact to the helmet, thereby diminishing the risk of head fracture and brain injury resulting from the impact.
Protective athletic helmets have been worn for almost a century, and have evolved from sewn leather, to helmets having molded plastic outer shells with suspension webbing or other head fitting structures such as foam pads, air bladders, or padded molding on their interior. Despite the evolution of the protective helmets, the reported rate of concussions has been increasing amongst students and professional athletes in many sports and other activities While some experts have attributed this increase to better reporting and diagnosis, other experts have attributed the increase to increased forces generated as competitive athletes continue to increase in size (mass) and increase their ability to accelerate.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved helmet that reduces the risk of concussions due to impact.